upcoming acc bball tournament

[strawbs]

Hey guys looking for a little help with regards to getting tickets for the tournament this year. I'm a teacher in iowa, and this year we have a spring break that corresponds with the tournament. I have never been to the tournament and don't really know how to go about getting tickets.
I was wondering when tickets usually go on sale to the public, and where is the best place to get them trough?
How much can I expect to pay for tickets for all sessions?
Would scalping be a viable option for me to get in, if i decided i only wanted to see certain games?

Thanks for any help with this.

[summerwind03]

These days, unless you know you definitely want to go to ALL the games, I would just scalp in to the games you're interested in. You shouldn't have to pay more than face, and can get better seats.

[Olympic Fan]

Between 1965 and 2008, ACC Tickets were not available for sale on the open market (although you could always scalp them). It took a major contribution to a school's booster group to get on the list to buy tickets.

That changed in 2009 in Atlanta - and over the last five seasons, there have been public sale of tickets through various (but not all) ACC schools.

I don't know whether or not that will be the case this year. I know the ACC is changing its distribution system to give more tickets to the schools that can sell them (like UNC and Duke) and less to schools that can't (BC, Miami, Clemson ...). Don't know the final details with the three new ACC schools.

I would suggest checking with the ticket offices of the schools that don't travel well for basketball -- the two Florida schools, BC, VPI, Clemson. Don't know whether Maryland fans will be more or less anxious to go to Greensboro as they are one foot out the door.

Or, as strawbs suggests, you can always come without tickets and try to buy them on the scalper's market.

Good luck.

[-bdbd]

Suggestion: Once they announce that tix are available, several weeks prior to tournament (maybe 6 weeks?), go to the ACC website and ID where the different schools' seats are assigned. They move them around each year - for instance Duke's seats were primarily endzone/corner this season, so next year they'll likely be better. ID a school that has good seats**, but which is either (A) Not having a good year, or (B) Is coming from a great distance (and may not bring the full allotment of fans to buy all their assigned seats). Last year a few weeks prior to the ACCT I went onto, I think, the FSU website/tix 800 number, and purchased 4 seats together for my group for the whole tournament, face value. I wasn't interested in the Thursday games, so I sold those to other fans (at a discount).

As others have said, you can always go the "scalper' route before each session (before Sun. the tix are all sold in 2-game "sessions"). If, for example, Duke is playing in the Friday EVENING session, then you might not be interested in going to the AFTERNOON session, or in spending that money. The way it works is that the two winners from a given Friday session will then play each other on Sat. (IOW, you'll still get to see our next opponent if you just attend the one session) - assuming we win...)

See you there!


** .... NEVER sit in the UNC section unless willing to take tons of abuse. Same for MD.

[hurleyfor3]

I would suggest checking with the ticket offices of the schools that don't travel well for give a crap about basketball -- the two Florida schools, BC, VPI, Clemson.

fixed


Don't know whether Maryland fans will be more or less anxious to go to Greensboro as they are one foot out the door.

They've cared twice about the tournament in my adult lifetime. In 2002, when they were good enough to win the national championship, and in 2005 when it was in DC. They didn't make it to Sunday either time.

Typical street prices, per session:

Thursday $5 for uppers, $10 for lowers, maybe $20 for really good lowers
Friday below face for sessions where neither unc nor ncsu are playing to $150+ if you have at least three out of the Big Four in a session and two of those teams are having good years
Saturday see Friday but generally a little more expensive
Sunday typically $10-20, *maybe* around face if it's Duke-unc. Most years it's like Cubs tickets in September, the goal is really to try to get in for free.

Face for a book is a really BAD deal, unless you buy one on Thursday night or they're good lowers.

However they're doing the tournament now it's hard to imagine earlier games going for more than what Thursday costs. It'll be interesting to see how Cuse and Pitt affect the market, but my guess is not much. I look on the bright side, it's more teams able to knock unc out.

[DU82]

fixed



They've cared twice about the tournament in my adult lifetime. In 2002, when they were good enough to win the national championship, and in 2005 when it was in DC. They didn't make it to Sunday either time.

Typical street prices, per session:

Thursday $5 for uppers, $10 for lowers, maybe $20 for really good lowers
Friday below face for sessions where neither unc nor ncsu are playing to $150+ if you have at least three out of the Big Four in a session and two of those teams are having good years
Saturday see Friday but generally a little more expensive
Sunday typically $10-20, *maybe* around face if it's Duke-unc. Most years it's like Cubs tickets in September, the goal is really to try to get in for free.

Face for a book is a really BAD deal, unless you buy one on Thursday night or they're good lowers.

However they're doing the tournament now it's hard to imagine earlier games going for more than what Thursday costs. It'll be interesting to see how Cuse and Pitt affect the market, but my guess is not much. I look on the bright side, it's more teams able to knock unc out.

When we're you at the tournament last? Prices are higher,and because the scalpers are more organized, tickets, or at least good tickets, are harder to come by at a good price. And the face value is much higher, too. Admittedly, the upper seats are available, but for a game involving Duke or UNC, you're going to be paying more than what you stated. I've never been to the tournament on a Thursday since they got rid of the stupid 1-9 game, so I don't know about those prices. I'm guessing Wednesday games will be even cheaper.

But, the main part of your message, and others, remains. Buy session to session, not an entire book unless you get a good price for a great seat not in the UNCheaters or Big10 sections.

Edit: this is for a Greensboro tournament, not Atlanta, Tampa or NYC.

[hurleyfor3]

When we're you at the tournament last?

2010. I stand by what I wrote, especially with FSU and Miami having won the last two tournaments. I heard the 2011 final (Duke/unc) wasn't hard at all. Face may have gone up but the wonderful thing about the scalpers' market is that it's just that, a market, and doesn't care what face is.

"Scalpers are more organized"... ha. It's eat what you kill. Always.

I do consider myself above average at working the secondary market and in fact have far more experience at it as a seller.

[strawbs]

thanks guys i really appreciate all the help. How early do you think i need to book a hotel by? I would have done it already but still need to talk to my superiors and make sure I can get out of an inservice day that thursday. Any hotel recommendations?

[Jarhead]

My greatest success came from waiting outside after games, looking for fans from losing schools. Many seem happy to get just a face value sale of their tickets, before they return home.

[hurleyfor3]

thanks guys i really appreciate all the help. How early do you think i need to book a hotel by? I would have done it already but still need to talk to my superiors and make sure I can get out of an inservice day that thursday. Any hotel recommendations?

The schools and conference book most of the nicer hotels, but finding decent middle-of-the-road lodging is never a problem. You can always stay in Winston-Salem. Not a bad strategy to book the first couple nights early, then hold off until you get there for Saturday/Sunday nights as fans of losing teams leave.

There is much less traffic on the west side of Greensboro than the east.

[DU82]

2010. I stand by what I wrote, especially with FSU and Miami having won the last two tournaments. I heard the 2011 final (Duke/unc) wasn't hard at all. Face may have gone up but the wonderful thing about the scalpers' market is that it's just that, a market, and doesn't care what face is.

"Scalpers are more organized"... ha. It's eat what you kill. Always.

I do consider myself above average at working the secondary market and in fact have far more experience at it as a seller.

"scalpers are more organized": it appears to me there's a lot more runners/flunkees feeding to a few primary dealers. It's harder to pick up tickets from losing teams now compared to the 80s when I started buying tickets. (and yes, I've been handed tickets before.). Part of that is I don't look like a student anymore, and back when I did, wearing Duke clothes was a positive rather than a negative.

I added a late note to mention that the 2012 tournament in Atlanta was a different world than just about any other, besides maybe Tampa. Little interest, even from the usual teams. 2009, even in the bigger dome, was a tougher ticket.

This season's Wednesday games will be interesting to see regarding tickets. Other than the session that includes UNC, I think it'll take about $10-15 for a seller to pay for somebody to take their extras.

I don't doubt that you look at things differently than an inexperienced buyer, but I think your experience/expectations are going to be different than the OP will see.

(my general rule when I have extras and am selling: face value for Duke fans, a little more for our opponents, and you don't have enough money if you're a Heel.)

[strawbs]

thanks for all the input in this thread guys, I really appreciate it. I have a couple more questions though. One thing my dad and I thought of doing was taking either a morning or afternoon (opposite of when duke is playing) and driving to durham to see Cameron and the basketball museum. Are these open to the public if there isn't a home game? I'm also curious how it works over at Chapel Hill at the dean smith center and their museum.
again thanks for the help.

[DU82]

thanks for all the input in this thread guys, I really appreciate it. I have a couple more questions though. One thing my dad and I thought of doing was taking either a morning or afternoon (opposite of when duke is playing) and driving to durham to see Cameron and the basketball museum. Are these open to the public if there isn't a home game? I'm also curious how it works over at Chapel Hill at the dean smith center and their museum.
again thanks for the help.

Cameron and the museum are open every day, AFAIK. I took visitors there the day of a game last year without any problems.

I have no idea if the DESSAC (Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center) is open, nor why you would want to go see it. :)

[Indoor66]

Cameron and the museum are open every day, AFAIK. I took visitors there the day of a game last year without any problems.

I have no idea if the DESSAC (Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center) is open, nor why you would want to go see it. :)

Why go there? It is FILLED with that ugly shade of blue.

[devildeac]

thanks for all the input in this thread guys, I really appreciate it. I have a couple more questions though. One thing my dad and I thought of doing was taking either a morning or afternoon (opposite of when duke is playing) and driving to durham to see Cameron and the basketball museum. Are these open to the public if there isn't a home game? I'm also curious how it works over at Chapel Hill at the dean smith center and their museum.
again thanks for the help.

Just in case you get lost and mistakenly end up on the unc campus, you will probably recognize the smith center (aka dump on the hump) by this sight:

http://www.secrant.com/rant/p/36388747/Any-pics-of-the-Arky-dumpster-fire.aspx

(scroll down just a bit...)

[strawbs]

so I'm about to order my plane tickets etc... and am planning on going the scalping route to get tickets. Just wondering what is face value usually for each session? Again thanks for the help guys.